Burning Up
by Dancing a Black Waltz
Summary: Hook is ill during a thunderstorm and Emma has to take care of him. Fluff and Captain Swan!
1. A Storm and a Quilt

_**Disclaimer:**__ I don't own Once Upon a Time._

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Hook frowned. He ran his hand lightly over the railing on the _Jolly Roger_. There was a strange feeling in the pit of his stomach. It felt like he was forgetting something, but Hook knew that nothing was wrong. He wiped wearily at his forehead, thinking how hot it was, especially for late October.

He knew there was something wrong but he just couldn't place his hook on it. Hook decided to take a nap and then maybe everything would be clearer. Hook stumbled down to his sleeping quarters and shrugged off his coat. He curled up on the mattress, too tired to even pull the blanket up.

"Sounds like there's supposed to be quite a storm tonight" David remarked.

"I wonder if Hook will be alright" Snow mused. The two Charming's had invited Emma and Henry over to bake cookies. Unsurprisingly, Henry and Snow were proving to be quite adept at decorating. After unsuccessfully struggling to even ice a cookie, both Emma and David had decided to stick to cutting out the cookies.

"Why?" Emma looked up.

"Well, the storm sounded like it's supposed to be really bad. Lightning and such" Snow replied.

"I'm sure Hook will be fine. It's just a little rain after all." Emma shrugged and continued to cut out cookies, although driving the cookie cutter through the dough with a little more force than necessary.

"Still. It would be nice if-"

"Okay! I get it, you want me to go check on him." Emma threw her hands up in exasperation.

"I'll go," she said, her tone annoyed, in response to Snow and David's questioning looks.

* * *

Emma hugged her jacket tighter around her torso. The wind was picking up, stirring the water in the harbor into a choppy blue swirl and sending dried leaves scuttling across the ground. There was a rumble of thunder in the distance and Emma hoped that Hook was perfectly fine so she could get home before the storm hit. She cautiously stepped onto the deck of the _Jolly Roger_, half expecting Hook to jump out and scare her.

"Hook!" she called.

Receiving no answer, Emma tried again.

"Killian!"

This time she was met with a half-hearted moan from somewhere below deck. Emma lost no time in hurrying down the stairs, only to stop as she saw Hook sprawled on the floor.

"Hook, what are you doing?" she gasped.

He looked up at her, his eyes hazy and tried to say something. His head dropped against the floor a second later with a dull _thud_. Emma immediately crouched next to the pirate. She pressed her palm to his forehead, frowning when he flinched back and her palm came away covered in sweat.

"Let's get you back to bed" Emma tried to get Hook to stand up. He was about halfway up, when his knees buckled and he collapsed against her. Emma groaned, as there was a bright flash of lightning outside the window and a loud crash of thunder. Only Hook could get seriously sick during a thunderstorm.

Emma managed to drag the semi-conscious pirate over to his bunk and pushed him onto it. Hook groaned as he became more alert.

"Will you please explain what is going on?" Emma demanded, hands on her hips.

Hook tried to flash her a grin, which only ended in his face abruptly paling and frantic gestures for a bucket. Emma winced as he emptied the contents of his stomach into the bucket. When he was done, Hook set the bucket down and attempted to speak.

"Lass…you should go" Hook swallowed.

"And leave you like this? Hook, you're running a fever and you won't ask for help. You like being alone, even when you're sick! Besides, I'm practically trapped on this damn boat. If you haven't noticed, there's a thunderstorm!" Emma finished her mini rant and glared at Hook.

"Don't call my ship 'damn'" Hook grimaced at the sour taste residing in his mouth.

"How long have you been like this? Have you eaten anything? Drink anything besides rum?" Emma questioned.

Hook shook his head and groaned as a wave of dizziness washed over him.

"Do you have _anything_ to eat on this ship?" Emma asked.

"Check over there" Hook motioned in the vague direction of cupboards, "d'you think you could get me a blanket, love?"

"Where are they?" she asked as she opened up the doors to the cupboards. She rummaged through, finding a lone package of crackers and a tin of very outdated peaches.

"Seriously? Is this it?"

"There's rum…" Hook said.

Emma's only response was to roll her eyes and turn away. She walked down the narrow corridor of the _Jolly Roger_, rummaging through random closets and chests, finally finding a stack of blankets that definitely looked like they had seen better days.

"Where did you find those?" Hook asked, struggling weakly to sit up.

"In a closet" Emma pulled the first one off the stack and tried to tuck it around Hook. The pirate only pushed it away, looking like a stubborn child as he folded his arms. She tried again, only to get the same results. If anything, Hook looked even more miserable than before.

"Hook, you're shivering. You need a blanket." Emma was tempted to just tie the blanket around Hook. He reminded her of Henry, especially in the way that Henry could often be persistent and/or stubborn.

"Didn't know you cared that much about me, Swan" Hook teased, but Emma could see something else in his eyes. It was something she hadn't seen before and something she didn't exactly like to see.

"I don't. Here's the blanket" Emma held it out to him and when he refused to take it, she dropped it on the bed and started to open the peaches and crackers. She was rather surprised to find that Hook actually had forks and plates.

"Here's-" Emma started. She stopped as soon as she saw Hook on his bunk. The pirate was bent over, the blanket wrapped around him, with a tear trickling down his cheek.

"Killian, what's wrong?" she asked softly, leaving the plates on the counter and taking a seat next to Hook. He shook his head and coughed.

"Milah. She-she made this" Hook said in a trembling voice. Emma slowly took the blanket from him and unfolded it. She could see it now was a beautiful quilt, though slightly worn and discolored. In the corner there was stitching faded by time, but still clear, forming initials that formed a "K" and an "M". Emma looked back at Killian, who was huddled over, his face hidden in his hands. She suddenly felt a stab of pity for the normally strong pirate.

"Killian…I-I-I'm so sorry " Emma said quietly. Hook nodded and Emma carefully tucked the quilt back around his shoulders.

**~TBC**

_Please tell me how you liked this. If there is enough interest, I will continue this! Reviews are like sunshine! They make me smile! Thanks :)_


	2. Thunder and Lightning

_"Killian…I-I-I'm so sorry " Emma said quietly. Hook nodded and Emma carefully tucked the quilt around his shoulders._

* * *

Emma glanced over at Hook. After his little emotional breakdown, Killian had fallen asleep, his head on Emma's lap. Although she secretly enjoyed it, it had also worried her, because she knew Killian would never be this contact seeking or vulnerable. Emma had finally gotten up, carefully shifting Killian's head off her lap and onto his pillow. He hadn't woken up and had only clutched a blanket tighter in his hand.

Now Emma was sitting on a chair she had dragged into Hook's room and fiddling with a few papers she had found in a dust-covered desk. As she skimmed over the paper, a crumpled sheet of paper slipped out. Emma slowly picked it up and turned it over. A rather crude drawing had been inked out. It displayed a young woman with dark hair in full pirate garb. Emma sighed; she had an idea that this was Milah. The woman Hook had cried about.

"Hey love" Emma whirled to see Killian sitting up. He smiled weakly at her.

"Hook. You shouldn't be up yet," Emma said, hurrying back to his side. She awkwardly placed her hand on his shoulder and crouched down.

"Worried about me love?" Hook asked.

"You need anything?" Emma asked, hoping the blush on her cheeks didn't actually show. Apparently it did or at least Hook was able to see right through her, because he smirked knowingly, winking slightly.

"Water might be nice" Hook croaked. His voice was still rough, courtesy of his fever.

Emma poured him a glass of water and handed it to Hook, watching as the pirate drank, wincing when he swallowed.

"Thank you love" he handed the cup back to Emma. When she looked back at him he was staring at something in his lap. She could see it was the drawing of Milah, and Hook gasped a little, quickly swiping at his eyes.

"That's Milah" Emma said softly. It wasn't a question or even a statement. Hook nodded slightly and closed his eyes as Emma gently pried the drawing out of his fingers. She laid it down on the small table next to the bed and looked over at Hook. For once, he actually looked 300 years old. His face was tired and older, not so much physically but more mentally. She gently slid her hand against his, feeling his fingers tense and then relax and close around hers.

She reached over with her free hand and brushed it gently against his forehead, pushing back a few stray hairs. Emma could still feel heat radiating out from under Hook's skin. His breathing had evened out and his head dropped to rest against Emma's shoulder.

"Hook? Hook?" Emma tentatively relaxed against the wall, Hook firmly situated on her shoulder. She didn't want to move, for fear of waking up Hook.

* * *

Emma groaned softly as her eyes opened. She was about to stretch, when she remembered the pirate that was still asleep on her shoulder. She glanced down, worried to see that Hook had slid down to lie flat on the mattress. He was sleeping with his back to her, and as Emma became more awake, she could hear little whimpering noises coming from him.

"Hook" she shook his shoulder, "Hook, wake up!"

Hook's eyes flew open and he bolted upright, his hand in an iron grip around Emma's wrist. She gently wrapped her arms around him, pulling the shaken pirate against her. Hook let out a shuddering gasp and Emma started to rub calming circles on his back.

"Nightmare?" she murmured.

Hook nodded shakily against her shoulder. After a few minutes, Emma gently pushed Hook back. He avoided looking at her as she gently brushed his dark hair off his face and pressed her hand against his burning forehead.

"Don' leave me…" Hook mumbled as Emma stood up.

"I'll be right back" she reassured him. Emma quickly jogged down the hall and grabbed an old rag from the counter and quickly dampened it.

"Hey, I- Hook, where are you?" Emma stopped short in the middle of the doorway as she stared at the now empty bunk.

"Right here love" Emma turned to see a pale-faced, swaying Hook leaning against the wall.

Emma didn't even bother to ask him what he was doing out of bed. She placed a gentle hand on his back and carefully guided him back to the bed.

"Well, this_ is_ very forward of you, love" Hook grinned woozily up at her. Emma sighed and pressed on his shoulders, coaxing him to lie down. She placed the cool, wet rag on his forehead, watching worriedly as he sighed quietly and relaxed. Emma quickly unfolded another blanket and draped it over Hook, and placed the quilt over the blanket.

"Hook…what was your nightmare about?" she asked softly.

"Nothing."

"Nothing? You don't wake up sweating for nothing" Emma remarked.

"It's just the fever…" Hook said quietly.

Emma bit her lip, worried because she hadn't realized that Hook's fever was so high that he was having hallucinations. She looked down to find that Hook had entangled his fingers in between hers and he was gripping her hand tightly.

She jumped as there was a loud crash of thunder and a bright flash of lighting that shook the windowpanes. Beside her, Hook flinched, his grip tightening on her hand.

"Hook, what's wrong?" she asked in a low voice.

"The-the-the thunder…" Hook murmured in so low a voice that Emma had to strain to hear it.

"You don't like it?"

Hook rather timidly shook his head and buried his face in Emma's side. If Hook hadn't been so ill, she would've been tempted to laugh. Captain Hook, afraid of a thunderstorm?

"Hook…"

Hook raised unfocused eyes to meet her face.

"Never mind" Emma ran her hand through Hook's hair, watching as the pirate's breathing evened out and he slept.

**~TBC**

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_Thanks for reading! I also changed the first chapter of this story to make Emma a bit more caring. So please read and tell me what you think! :)_


	3. Wait

"_Never mind" Emma ran her hand through Hook's hair, watching as the pirate's breathing evened out and he slept._

* * *

Hook woke up the next morning with a dull ache in his head, but nothing more. He remembered bits and pieces of last night. Emma looking like a blond angel, her hand gently running through his hair.

"Emma" he didn't realize he had said her name aloud until a frazzled blond angel appeared in the doorway.

"Hook! What's wrong?" worry immediately flashed across her face.

"Concerned, lass?" he asked with a smirk.

Emma's face relaxed back into its normal expression that she so often had when looking at Hook.

"Yeah. I was." Emma brushed her hand across Hook's forehead, and he closed his eyes for a second, relishing the comfort the touch brought him.

"Well, you don't feel too hot" she commented.

"I'm always hot" Hook commented, flashing a cheeky grin.

Emma rolled her eyes and turned away.

"I should be going," she said as she gathered up her scarf and coat. Hook watched her, feeling a forgotten pain build up in his chest as he watched her pack.

"Wait" he put his hand on her arm.

"You can stay here another night" Hook phrased the question more as a statement.

"Henry and Snow and David are waiting for me," Emma protested.

"Can't they wait another night?" Hook asked, feeling rather like a petulant child. Emma glared at him, raising her eyebrows.

"You know, you sound like Henry when he doesn't want to go to Regina's."

"Well, my adoptive mother isn't an evil queen," Hook remarked, stepping past Emma and up onto the deck. He smiled a bit, relishing the feeling of being alive enough to appreciate his ship again.

"I've gotta go" Emma said, but Hook could hear the regret in her voice.

"Wait."

"What is it, Hook?" Emma turned, I don't have-"

She was cut off as Hook grabbed her in a kiss. Her hands found hold in his leather coat and she relaxed against his hold.

"What was that? I really should be-"

Hook pressed his mouth over hers again.

"No, seriously-" this time Hook silenced her by placing his finger against her lips.

"Love, if you say you have to be going another time, then I'll have to kiss you."

**Fin.**

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_Well, this story has come to an end, sadly. I will be writing more in the future!_


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